Frustratedearthmother's Journaling Journey

[frustratedearthmother]

Good day today.

One of the students in the program I work for wanted to make a little extra pocket money today. Sooooo, I put him to work. We cleaned out an area under the big shed that I've been wanting to get to for awhile. It took a couple hours to clean out a 10 x 10 area that we've been using for storage. This shed was built over dog kennels a long, long time ago. The kennels themselves are no longer there, and there's no floor in it, but it does have concrete pavers in a section. I want to bring in some fill dirt to keep that area from flooding - if we ever get rain again, lol. It was in a high spot when we built it until my neighbor brought in about 8 dump loads of dirt several years back and now her place drains onto my place - grrrrrr! My dilemma is this: do I pull up the pavers? If I do, I'll have them to use somewhere else. But, the point is to raise the level, not lower it which is what will happen if I take the pavers out - and then I'd need more dirt to take up the space vacated by the pavers. Plus - it'll be a whole lot more work.....I'm gonna keep thinking about it....

We got a couple other things taken care of too while we had the help. Moved some of the big cinder type blocks out of the back area. They are heavy! But, with the A's help, we got about a dozen of them moved into a spot where I can make better use of them. Also, put the finishing touches on an extra pen that I use when I need a spot for a sickly critter, or one that just needs to be kept up or quarantined. Nice to get that done.

The pigs are getting soooo big. I'm guessing that they're around 100+ lbs by now. Starting to wonder if I should butcher one sooner than later. I'm thinking that butchering 'em both at the same time might be a huge task, and I'll be forced to deal with allll that meat at one time. Sounds like a better idea to butcher one a little earlier. I'll can as much of the meat as possible so I'll still have freezer room for the other.

On the goat front - I've been suspicious that the two does I tried to get bred back in early September didn't settle. I was right. It was sooo hot then that I'm not surprised that the bucks' sperm count might have been low at that point. I've never had an infertile buck, but if the does don't settle this time around I'll be making a decision about this guy - and he won't like it.

We worked hard today - soooooo - it'll be a hot tub night.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

OMG - I intensely dislike that goat! Intensely, intensely, intensely, dislike that goat! Can't say 'hate' cuz it's hardly an emotion that I'll use on a critter, lol!

Spooky is the most uncooperative animal on my place - grrrrrr! Yesterday I brought up the two 'pasture' Nubians (Spooky and Little Bit). I've had a suspicion for awhile that they weren't bred. They aren't. And, as luck would have it - they're both in heat. Since the little Pygmy guy can't reach them, I have to position them at the end of a ramp so he can have a better chance. Spooky is in raging heat - teasing the boys, flagging her tail, standing for the buck to hump away at her hocks (that's about as high as he can reach) and bellowing in frustration. But - do you think she'll cooperate and let me position her at the end of the ramp? Oh heck no - she fights me tooth and nail. I managed to hold her for one breeding last night and another one this morning, but not without a major fight. She ended up on the ground a couple times from jumping away so hard and hitting the end of the rope and flipping herself over. She's gotten so bad that she runs when she sees me now. So, I penned her up in a small pen this morning so I could catch her for an evening breeding. She jumped out of the pen somehow and has hurt herself in the process, so she's limping pretty severely on her left front now. I really would have thought she'd be easier to hold since she's injured. Nope. My back is K.I.L.L.I.N.G me from trying to fight her again tonight. I give up.... I just give up with her.

The other nubian, Little Bit, loves me and stood patiently for the buck with me just putting her in position and scratching her back while the boy did his thing. Chocolate Chip is in heat also and she was bred while her face was buried in a feed bucket! So, time will tell, again, if they settle this time.

If Spooky doesn't settle this time - and the other gals do - I'll probably get rid of her. She's the 'best' Nubian I've got. The best bred, the best looking, but I won't keep her around if I can't get her bred - and I really don't want to buy a buck just for her.... Geeze!

We're supposed to get a cold front, finally. They're actually saying we'll even get a freeze this week. I'll believe it when I see it!!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Okay, I've bred 4 does so that ought to give me a good indication of whether this buck is shooting blanks or not! I guess if he is - he can become a wether and then become dinner, lol. I've never wethered an adult buck before....not sure I have a rubber band big enough for that!

It got cold here. Maybe not as cold compared to some of you more northern residing folks, but cold enough for me. Got up around 5:30 this morning and it was 35 degrees - went out to milk and by the time I got done - it was 33. Geeze!

Can somebody please explain to me why chickens are sooooo stooooopid! They've got nice cozy places to roost and where are they? On a fence rail....geeze louise. There's the barn, there's the big shed, there are multiple smaller goat shelters....and again I ask...why are they on a fence rail? Every other critter on the place looks for shelter except them. They even sat out in the rain - stooopid chickens!

Pigs on the other hand are scary intelligent. Long, long time ago when we had some semi-feral pigs and there was a severe cold spell in the forecast. I really didn't have a pig pen per se, so they were doing time in the garden area while it was dormant for the winter. Unfortunately, there was no shelter there. After hearing that we were supposed to get down into the teens (a rarity here) I had a bright idea to make a three sided shelter out of some hay bales with a piece of plywood over it for a roof. I toted several bales of hay out there and then got sidetracked doing something else. Later that afternoon I went out to work on it and lo and behold - they'd built it themselves! They followed their own plans and I've gotta admit that it was cozy! They rooted out a hole in the mud...tapered in depth with the deep side to the north. They took several of those hay bales and broke them apart and lined the hole with them and even built it a berm on the north to block the wind and make a little overhang to snuggle up under. I think I must've stood there with my mouth hanging open in amazement for about 10 minutes. Who'd a thunk it? I used to have pictures of it, but I think they've disappeared over the course of time.

 

[Denim Deb]

Pigs are smart. And they taste good too.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

One of those days....

Went out ot milk this morning only to find Red's kids with her - and no milk for me. Her kids are 8 months old and they still nurse every chance they get...which is ok with me cuz it makes it possible fo me to go away and not worry about her drying up. But, they are greedy little darlings. Oh well...

The crazy goat is still limping - badly. She'll only use that leg under great duress - like if she's running away from me. There's no discernable swelling, no lumps, no bumps, nothing obvious at all. She'll go down on her knees and crawl - which makes me think that it's below the knee.... Ibuprofen and stall rest for her. If I make it by the vet clinic I'll pick up some Banamine for her - if not the Iburpofen will have to do.

And to make matters better - Lil' Bit - the other nubian - is acting weird. She's very quiet, almost lethargic. But - no elevated temp, no diarrhea, no runny nose, no cough. She's recently been wormed. She's eating but not enthusiastically; however, she is cudding. Really sick goats usually don't eat well or chew cud.... I dunno what her issue is...

We're trying to finalize Christmas plans. We may be hosting DH's family the weekend before Christmas. I'd actually rather host than travel - so I'm ok with it. We'll have a simple meal on Saturday (probably chili) and have a White Elephant gift exchange. The grandkids, nieces and nephews always like to see the animals - so I hope the weather is nice enough for them to spend time outside!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

This is a day of pain, heart ache, devastation, and fear. Connecticut is a long way from Texas, but I feel great loss along with these families.

My grandson is in kindergarten. He loves school and he loves his teacher and he loves his classmates. School is the greatest thing ever - according to him. I wonder how he would feel if he knew that evil could invade his school?

We sat in our offices today as the news poured in and we cried for the lost children and their families.

And the survivors? How many of those children have had their world shattered today? So sad. So senseless.

All I can do is pray for these families.

 

[Denim Deb]

I cannot even imagine what those families must be feeling.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

It's not even noon and it's already been a productive day. I've got two pans of cajeta simmering on the stove along with about 3 dozen eggs boiling. And, I'm going to be starting some cheese in just a bit. I took the milk out of the fridge earlier today and am letting it come to room temp. I don't like to heat the milk for chevre because I really like the idea of it being raw. Raw milk makes good raw cheese - yummy. Our favorite flavor has turned out to be roasted garlic and rosemary. That means that the house will smell of roasted garlic. Nothing wrong with that!

I'll be making a pot of chicken soup today too. It'll be our first taste of the roos we butchered a couple weeks ago. Can't wait - I'm hungry already.

And - I'm working on putting the stuff back under the shed that we took out last weekend on our cleaning spree. Things had gotten totally out of hand under the shed, so it'll be nice and neat under there for at least awhile....until we start filling up all the empty space again. Why does that happen? It's like a giant vacumm or something - you make a little space under there and before you know it - it's all filled up again. But, then again, I'm a bit of a pack rat. That might explain it. I can't bring myself to get rid of something that might be useful.

Break over - back to it.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Didn't get a lot done outside before the rain started, but that's okay. We got a bit over two inches and it's almost all soaked in. Hallelujah! We needed it.

I caught the Sussex chickens last night and moved them into a pen of their own. I want to hatch some as soon as I start getting some eggs. Hoping they'll jump into high gear here soon. I have one Coronation rooster with two Coronation and two Light Sussex hens. They are such a nice breed. Big and meaty and very calm. This roo is the biggest one on the place and I've yet to see him actually fight any one. He runs, lol! I also got most of the Barred Hollands re-penned. The have been loose for a couple weeks since the gate to their run got left open. I think I might offer their eggs on E-bay eventually. Then theres the Faverolles that I'd like to expand on... Big plans!

OH, and last time I checked, the goose had laid 4 eggs and that was a few days ago. My original plan was to pull some of the eggs and incubate them while letting her lay more and hatch them herself. But - the trip to Grand Cayman is getting in the way. I'm not sure leaving eggs in the incubator while I'm out of the country for 5 days is a great idea. I may go ahead and try it with just a few eggs and just hope that things go well while we're away.

While it was raining today it seemed to be a good time to do some house cleaning - YUCK! I'd rather work my behind off outside than to do housework - but - it's gotta be done. We're pretty good at keeping the downstairs picked up and looking decent - but OMG - our room is the 'catch-all' room. Not really even sure why that is when we've got two extra empty bedrooms. But, today they're all clean! Even better, DH actually helped. He dusted and vacuumed while I worked mostly on the closet.

I even got some canning done. I'm working on cleaning out the freezers so I'll have room for pigs. I pulled a big ol beef roast out and canned it today. I even found a bag of shrimp that I'm gonna saute up with butter and garlic for dinner. Unfortunately, DH seems to have acquired a new allergy.... guess what he's allergic to now? Shellfish! Poor baby, he's gonna have to smell the good stuff and not get to enjoy it.

The chicken soup I made yesterday with the roos we butchered a few weeks ago was mighty tasty. It was even better today for lunch. Soup is always so much better the next day - I wonder why that is?

The highlight of the day was watching the Texans win big! Whoop, whoop! I love my Texans and especially JJ!

Guess I need to start thinking about getting outside and getting those goats milked.

 

[the funny farm6]

are your feverolles the salmon feverolles? if you want to sell hatching eggs........